Upgrading to Windows 8 is no easy task

So Joy decided to upgrade her Windows 7 computer to Windows 8, figuring how can we serve the readers if we don’t have the latest Microsoft operating system? Just so.

Well, let no good deed go unpunished. From the beginning, there were warnings that should have told us we were on dangerous ground. The built-in Windows 8 “Upgrade Assistant” said we’d have to buy extra software if we wanted to continue to play DVDs. (Wait a minute: We had no trouble playing DVDs before.) Then it informed us the Windows Media Center also would no longer be available. But we could buy extra software that would perform those functions, which we had before.

Furthermore, one of the Bluetooth utilities would be automatically uninstalled. Uh oh. This caused our Logitech wireless mouse to stop working. No mouse. How sad. Too bad.

Another message said the Intel “host controller” would have to be manually uninstalled. Joy, being pretty handy with the tech stuff, uninstalled it. But it automatically came back again. Time to call for support from the technicians at Microsoft’s AnswerDesk.com. Answer Desk is free. It turned out to be useless, but it was free.

The tech support guy said getting Windows 8 installed would involve changing the BIOS settings, which stand for Basic Input/Output System. The tech support guy advised calling HP. So we did. But Hewlett-Packard said any installation of Windows 8 would void their warranty. Wow!

So now we had a computer with no working mouse and some other missing features. Tried doing a “System Restore,” but that didn’t work. Neither did Windows image restore. We had to order recovery disks from HP. So the bottom line here is we paid Microsoft $40 for what turned out to be an unusable upgrade to Windows 8. We tried tech support again from HP, but we got a person almost impossible to understand and finally had to hang up.

We don’t recommend anyone upgrade to Windows 8, but you may have already gotten a new computer with Windows 8 on it. If so, you’re probably as confused as we were when we tried it in the store. Several readers have written us for help on how to understand the new operating system. We recommend “Essential Windows 8 Training” at Lynda.com. It’s great. One week of training is free, and in that time you could do the whole course plus any other topic that strikes your fancy. If you want a whole month of training, it’s $25.

OK, Windows 8 redux. There’s a way out of this mess.

There are many things that bug new Windows 8 users. For instance, they used to enjoy a nature scene or family photo on their screen as background “wallpaper;” now they have big colorful tiles. They can no longer close an application by clicking on an “X” in the corner, because there is no “X.” In fact, it’s hard to figure out how to close anything. And there’s no longer a “start” button or “start menu” on the desktop.

Fear not: For a small fee you can regain control. A few companies are offering software to make Windows 8 look like Windows 7. One we like is RetroUI, for $5. You get to keep any extra features of Window 8.

Windows 8 sales haven’t been doing any better than Vista did when it was introduced back in 2007. (Vista never did live up to Microsoft’s hopes, as users responded to its introduction with a number of pointed comments, like “Huh?”) Windows 7 was created to solve the problems of Vista. Someday there will be a Windows 9 to correct the problems of Windows 8.

This whole process is an extremely clever marketing plan to see how often a giant company can screw up a new product, and then charge the user for a newer new product that fixes the previous product. (Remember the Golden Rule: Never buy anything with a low serial number.)

We recently read about Kevin, a 6-year-old who was always getting sick, often going to the emergency room, where he got prescriptions for more pills. What finally made him healthy again was getting him to eat fruits and veggies. What his mother did was carve cute little animals, Charlie Brown figures and other fun stuff out of veggies and fruits. Meal time became fun and he looked forward to eating nutritiously. Fortunately for the rest of us, she made a Facebook page to show off her creations. The page, at Facebook.com/FunMeals4Kids, now has more than 1,000 “likes.”

We’ve tried many different wireless speakers for our iPad and the Android phone, but the first one we really liked is Edge Sound from CubEdge. It’s a black box shorter than a human hand and weighing just 9 ounces.

The Edge Sound speaker is $149 from cubedge.com. It filled our living room with clear music, sounding far better than our iPad or other portable speakers we’ve tried. The speaker is battery powered and can be solar charged. It includes a microphone for hands-free Skype calls. It’s not in retail stores yet but can be ordered online.

Americans watch the most online videos but haven’t been buying Internet-connected TVs. According to NPD Display Search, only about 20 percent of TVs shipped in North America connect to the Internet. Ours doesn’t either, so we bought a Google box, the “Internet Player with Google TV” from Sony, which lets us watch PBS extras, Amazon Instant Video, Netflix movies and plenty of other shows. It costs $150. If you feel like going big-time, LG sells an $1,100 model that responds to voice commands: If you want the History Channel, you just say so.